In yet another commissioning for Netflix in recent ‘times’, they have taken one of their current pieces of acquired content and looked to expand on it by themselves, with Canadian children’s animated series Justin Time.

The original series, native to the Disney Junior network in Canada, PBS/NBC Sprout in the USA, and Netflix leading the rights holders in a number of other territories, first aired in 2011 with a total of 2 seasons and 52 episodes.

Whether that is the end of that series remains to be seen, but it is known that it will continue in an almost identical fashion to its predecessor with a Netflix Original spin-off show, entitled Justin Time: The New Adventures. The primary difference in the series seems to be the order of 13 ‘half-hour episodes’ as opposed the the ‘segment’ format of before, though the numbers above also suggest that it could remain on a familiar runtime for viewers.

Created by Guru Studio, Justin Time: The New Adventures will again focus on 6-year-old boy Justin and his floating sidekick Squidgy, as they time travel seemingly by imagination to different periods and places around the world, where they always encounter their best friend Olive and help her with her problem in the era whilst learning a lesson they can take back with them to the present time, a solid foundation for a series even if the format was far from the first animated spin-off to have that kind of a structure.

Netflix’s ‘vice-president of content acquisition’ Erik Barkmack said of the move: “We are excited to be working with some of the greatest animators in the world to bring new and original episodes of Justin Time to our members. The series has been a hit for us across several Netflix territories and we expect nothing less for the new series.”

With a planned airdate for ‘early 2016′, will Netflix avoid any delays in production and with it the kind of puns that 5-year-olds can comprehend judging by the show’s title? A look at what might be expected from the new series can be seen below:

But hopefully, for their sake, the new travels of Justin and his friends won’t see them cross paths with the guy below, buddy:

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It will be an emotional day for animated comedy and TV as a whole when The Simpsons airs its last episode, but that day is not going to be arriving for a while, according to executive producer Al Jean.

Claiming that there is currently ‘no end in sight’ for the veteran series, Jean notes that at the point of the 26th season on Fox, he and others have simply ‘stopped trying to predict’ how long will it will continue to last on-air with new episodes.

He recently said of this topic: “I don’t see an end in sight – ratings are really good. I think it’s going to go at least two more years, maybe four, maybe more. I’ve stopped trying to predict, because it always goes much further than anybody dreams.”

He added of rumours that a sequel to The Simpsons Movie will be made either before or after the TV run concludes: “No-one wants to do a bad movie. We have ideas but it’s a really tough bar it’s gotta pass.”

On a different topic, Jean weighed in on the matter of The Simpsons‘ recent Family Guy crossover episode (“The Simpsons Guy”) by stating he was ‘not a fan’ of the much-complained about rape joke featured in the episode, which was beyond their control being classed as a Family Guy episode.

He noted of the clear context that the joke was written under: “I’d actually said to [The Simpsons co-creator] Jim Brooks that maybe we should ask them to change that, just because the word is so offensive. He said – and I respect this – that’s what they do and we don’t want to be the heavy hand that censors them. But personally I would’ve omitted it. Stewie makes the joke and everybody [including Bart Simpson on-screen] looks at him, like ‘That is not funny’ – but a lot of reports missed that second part of it. The whole idea is that we don’t think that’s funny – we [at The Simpsons] were saying, ‘We hate that joke’.”

Jean also spoke of one of the main criticisms The Simpsons has had in its decade-plus of lower-quality content than its peak – the over-reliance on celebrity guest voices to draw ratings, a trend that Jean claims the show is attempting to reduce. He said of this trend, which seems to have begun this season with Nick Offerman, Jane Fonda and Willem Dafoe guesting on episodes but portraying characters rather than themselves: “We’ve tried to backtrack a little on having too many people playing themselves, because we’ve had so many – we don’t want it to be some crazy roster! In the beginning, celebrities wouldn’t say who they were – Dustin Hoffman didn’t say who he was, Michael Jackson didn’t say who he was. But then a little bit afterwards, we had Sting playing himself, we had Tom Jones playing himself, so by season 3 [that approach was starting to be taken] with celebrities.”

And in more present news, The Simpsons will follow on from their meeting with Family Guyin September with a crossover episode they host next weekend (9 November), with creator Matt Groening’s other show Futurama coming back (also in time) to merge into the episode “Simpsorama”. Insisting that fans of both shows will not be disappointed or disrespected by the episode, Jean also cites that he is “really excited” for the crossover, which has not done anything to alter the continuity of Futurama‘s ending from last year.

He summarised of the episode: “It was a really good ending and this doesn’t purport to re-end it. If you asked me, I’d say this crossover takes place three months before [the finale] occurred. I would never dream of trying to replace that ending. [We knew] Futurama was probably going off the air – though you never know, that show always comes back. So we thought it’d be great to see those characters one more time and to have those voices come to our show.”

If they need any last minute tips on how to pull off an impressive collaboration of two animated comedy shows, though, they need look no further than an episode of Gravity Falls that aired last week. That show on the other end, with the episode that included that flamingo-universe setting, aired around half a year beforehand:

Netflix are currently on an unstoppable roll when it comes to commissioning new content, with their latest announcement seeing their collection of original animated comedy series doubled to 2.

New series F Is for Family will continue the fledgling relationship the streaming service has with stand-up American stand-up comedian Bill Burr, who will be releasing a stand-up special on the site (called I’m Sorry You Feel That Way) on 5 December.

The animated show is noted as being introduced as a 6-episode first season with half-hour episodes, each one based on the comedy of Burr, with a target launch date of some point in 2015, joining the second season of Netflix’s first animated comedyBoJack Horseman in premiering somewhere in that year.

Burr is to provide the voice Frank Murphy, the father in a dysfunctional American family in the 1970s. Also confirmed as voice acting are Laura Dern as wife “Sue”, and Justin Long as oldest son “Kevin”. Working behind-the-scenes (or at least behind-the-voices) on the show will be Vince Vaughn (Dodgeball: The Ultimate Underdog Story) as an executive producer, and production companies Gaumont International Television and Wild West Television.

Burr said of the show: “F Is for Family is the show I’ve always wanted to do. It captures all the characters of my childhood the way I remember it to be. Fortunately Mike Price and everyone at Wild West seem to know the same people I knew growing up. It’s going to be a lot of fun to tell these stories.”

Vaughn noted: “Bill is the funniest, most original voice out there. We’re all excited to be working with Netflix on this project.”

Netflix’s ‘vice-president of original content’ Cindy Holland added: “Bill Burr’s stand-up specials are wildly popular for us worldwide, and we’re looking forward to presenting his at once nostalgic and unflinching take on the family comedy in this original animated series.”

While F Is for Family has a great platform from which to follow BoJack Horseman into success, will its lead character of Frank Murphy be even close to measuring up to the lead character of the only other 70s-themed animated comedy show currently around?

Since FXX acquired the rights to show syndicated episodes of The Simpsons last year, it seems as though they have been taking the animated comedy show from Fox extremely seriously with regards to giving it airtime and support, with the marathon of all episodes to date in the summer perhaps expected at some point in their tenure.

A couple of months on, though, they have gone one better, with the launch today of The Simpsons World app by FX Networks. The app (only available to TV subscribers) will provide every single episode from the show’s past (currently 556) in one place (with new episodes uploaded a day after original Fox airing), already a big ask for America’s longest-running scripted show, but is added to with a number of news, behind-the-scenes, bonus content, sharing, recommended playlists, and interactive features.

The service is described by FX as an “…immersive, interactive digital and online experience … for both casual and super fans.”

Available both through website and the FXNOW app (on applicable smartphones, tablet computers, and streaming products), the service is to offer alongside the episodes a variety of clips and trivia to accompany the viewing, with features including news/social media hub Everything Simpsons, Did You Know, and The Simpsons Heartbeat (a ranking of all episodes by viewcount), alongside smart search functions for both full episode scripts and to search episodes and clips by character or guest star.

It was also claimed that they are not finished with creating new features, as a number are set to be rolled out over the next few months. For the completionist of content side, perhaps semi-related content such as all promos, inserts, cross-overs, movies, commercials, images, and Tracey Ullman shorts should also be targeted for inclusion.

On a technical level, FX Networks’ chief operating officer Chuck Saftler said of the new service: “We recognize that The Simpsons was found linearly on television for the last 25-plus years in syndication, where any episode could be served up in a given night. If you just flipped on the TV, anywhere across the country, you’d find an episode, and that was a great, easy experience. But we wanted to look at the new paradigms that we’re seeing in this SVOD space, this non-linear space, where people can create playlists and create the [experience] they want. We’ll make it easy for you. We’ll curate for you; you can curate for you; you can curate for us. It can be lean-forward; it can be lean-back.”

FX Networks’ ‘head of marketing & on-air promotions’ Stephanie Gibbons summarised: “The Simpsons is one of the greatest shows ever made and our goal was to create a site that pays homage to this classic iconic brand while delivering a rich, personal experience. Fans will be able to seamlessly move in and out of the deepest digital archive of any TV series online ever – wherever they are and however they want – and dive deeper into this colorful world through many additional features built into this site.”

Following their structure of episode implementation, you will be able to watch this most recent headline-making footage from the show, with a closing scene of the “Treehouse of Horror XXV” episode showcasing the characters in various styles that will appeal to fans who also enjoy other animated comedies and cartoons.

For those with a checklist, featured there was The Simpsons in Tracey Ullman form, claymation, anime, Adventure Time, South Park, Archer, The Simpsons in ‘Sylvian Chomet couch gag’ style, The Simpsons in Lego form, The Simpsons in the fantasy animal form of a previous Treehouse of Horror installment, and the movie franchise Despicable Me.

While fans of the series will have been a little disappointed that Fox cut it in favour of shows ofa lower quality, TBS‘s pick-up and now efforts towards marketing animated comedy American Dad! is one that has generated some excitement ahead of its 12th season.

Following Fox’s contract expiry after a three-episode miniature 11th season this September, TBS have picked up full rights to the show and gone all-out with promotions and imagery ahead of their first season as broadcasters, even co-inciding with an Adidas tennis shoe deal.

With a season premiere date scheduled for Monday 20 October, it seems as though the cable network had one other major surprise in store before the first episode… the first episode.

The installment, known as “Blonde Ambition”, surprisingly emerged through the network’s Facebook and Twitter feeds, and on Sunday 12 October on YouTube, with little reasoning given by TBS as to why they have done this.

Fans of the show, particularly those that have no cable access but do have an internet signal, won’t mind at all, though, at the bonus free-to-access episode, with some of the belief that it is merely to further generate publicity ahead of the new season.

TBS, TNT & Turner Classic Movies’ ‘senior vice president of entertainment branding & marketing’ Tricia Melton said as much when she announced the move earlier this month, stating: “This sneak peek is a wonderful way to reward the nearly 20 million fans of American Dad! on Facebook and Twitter for their longtime devotion to the series. It’s also a great way to build up the excitement for the show in its new home on TBS.”

The episode itself (pictured above, viewable below) sees the character of Haley Smith dye her hair blonde to try and attract more attention for her environmentalist causes, while her father and brother Stan and Steve look into moving to a gated community, but end up trapped in a display house by vicious guard dogs.

Though it is yet to be seen if TBS will continue their YouTube screenings in a more post-broadcast on-demand approach, the show appears to have found a more welcoming home that also allows it to go a little further on account of being cable, but will their positive first impression be the start of a long and fruitful run, or is showcasing their content for free (as demonstrated below) something that will put them right into the financial danger zone?

The high-profile emergence of the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) radicalist independence group on the international scene has been a headline difficult to ignore in recent months, even if they also go by the acronyms of ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and IS (Islamic State).

It is the first name that most concerns one animated comedy in America, though, with ISIS being the name of the fictitious spy agency in critically-acclaimed FX show Archer since its launch in 2009, with the creators confirming that current events will see the characters working for a different organisation as of next season.

Archer creator Adam Reed and executive producer Matt Thompson, speaking to The Daily Beast, claim that while they feel it was natural to make the move due to the negative connotations the name ISIS now has in America (connotations that could have perhaps put them into a zone of danger?), the storyline of season 5 (Archer Vice) provided them with a natural way for the International Secret Intelligence Service to cease existence in season 6, in a way that doesn’t appear too forced.

Set to air in January, the 6th season premiere of Archer will have an edited background shot, in which Malory Archer, the head of the organisation and mother of titular character/lead agent Sterling Archer, will be speaking on the phone to him (explaining that the former independent agency now answers to the CIA) whilst workers remove an ISIS sign at their headquarters in New York City.

Speaking of the metaphorical removal, Reed stated: “We quietly did. We were waiting for it to go away – at least I was. Back in Season 5, FX said, ‘This might be a thing’, and I thought, ‘Maybe it won’t be? Maybe it’ll be the mole that I’m gonna ignore and nothing will happen.’ We got sort of lucky and could organically make a merger with the CIA, so we went back and retroactively painted out the ISIS logos in parts of the show, and we just don’t talk about it in dialogue. It’s just the most awful thing, and we didn’t want to have anything to do with it.”

Thompson added: “We won’t say ISIS anymore, and the only visual representation of it will be that sign rolling off the show. It’s just the most awful thing, and we didn’t want to have anything to do with it. There were people online saying that we should address it and say, ‘Oh, I can’t believe these guys have co-opted our name’. That’s the way South Park would do it, coming after them and saying, ‘These assholes stole our name’, but that’s not the way the Archer universe works, where it’s all our own creations. In our universe, they don’t exist.”

Reed summarised of the merchandising problems that developed over the year with the growth of the Asian ISIS: “I gave my Dad one of the [Archer] ISIS hats and he said, ‘You know son, I’m not going to be able to wear the hat anymore. I’m gettin’ looks at the hardware store’. I was at a meeting with the FX execs and I said, ‘You know, with all this extra ISIS merchandise, you should just make the bad guys buy it.’ Dead silence. And then they said, ‘We have a lot of ISIS merchandise’. So I guess that’s all going to a landfill somewhere.”

It is noted, though, that the change won’t be tiptoed around and made retroactive, especially considering , so fans of the show will be able to look back on ISIS with fondness over the first 5 seasons. An animated comedy focusing on the CIA, though… any chance of hopping back on board the crossover train (toot toot)?